More Love: Side Stories from the Epic Love 'Verse
by lajulie
Summary: A collection of ficlets set in the 'verse established in my sequel trilogy fix-it Epic Love. Fixing the relationships, untimely deaths, and strange characterizations from Disney canon and having a bit of fun exploring the new (and old) characters we love. Originally posted on Tumblr in response to various prompts. Also features Luke, Wedge, Finn, Poe, and more.
1. Chapter 1 - Beneath the Milky Twilight

_Since we're working with Disney canon (and fixing what needs fixing), here's a Disney canon / Epic Love 'verse wedding on Endor. Written for HanLeia Appreciation Week 2017, Favorite Song/Lyric, using the song "Kiss Me" by Sixpence None the Richer as the inspiration._

* * *

 **Beneath the Milky Twilight**

Almost nobody had bet on a wedding.

Wedge and Tycho had come the closest; they'd bet on an engagement, although even they didn't think it would be announced for a while. There had to be some reason Solo and the Princess kept sneaking off together with serious faces, then returning all smiles and hugs and meaningful looks.

The other Rogues were betting on explanations of a much cruder sort: would someone catch Han and Leia _en flagrante_ in the woods somewhere? Would they appear at one of the many post-Endor battle briefings late, bearing telltale love bites on their necks or leaves in their hair? But none of them had bet on an actual _wedding._ On Endor. In two days.

Leia had started to doubt the wisdom of telling the Rogues anything, but Luke assured her that they would be more helpful with the preparations if they weren't wasting their time trying to figure out what was going on (or trying to catch her and Han having sex in a tree or something).

Their plans _were_ a bit sudden, Leia admitted, but once they'd decided to marry, it felt like it made no sense to wait. Han knew about her parentage and loved her regardless; they had a rare break in the action in the wake of the Endor victory; it felt like they'd already waited long enough for each other. And this was a beautiful place, with most of the people Han and Leia considered family and friends already here.

So they were doing it. And now they were both splitting their attention between post-Endor battle plans and wedding logistics. One of which had Leia a bit stymied.

"What's with the long face, sweetheart?" Han asked her. They were eating dinner in the _Falcon_ and talking details. For what was supposed to be a rather simple ceremony, there sure seemed to be a lot of things to talk about. _I just wanted to get married,_ Han lamented in his head, but he recognized that this was nothing compared to the big state affair that would normally be a royal wedding. He was getting off easy.

Leia frowned and gestured to the dress the Ewoks had given her. "This dress. It was lovely of them to give it to me, but…it's just not what I think of for a _wedding_ dress." She scrunched her face up a bit.

Han grinned. "Well, I'd marry you in that," he said, indicating the Alliance uniform she was wearing, "but you should at least get to have _something_ special. We'll get you a dress."

Leia raised an eyebrow. "In a day and a half."

"I'm very good at finding things, Sweetheart. We'll get it done."

Leia looked dubious. But she trusted him.

* * *

The next day, the Rogues were hard at work on some setup that Han really hoped was not going to electrocute everyone. Chewie kept chasing Han out of the _Falcon_ , claiming he needed to practice his toast. And Han couldn't seem to find a dress for Leia to save his life. By the time afternoon rolled around, he was almost relieved to have a briefing with the Pathfinders.

Kes Dameron lingered a bit after the briefing. "General," he greeted, "I hear you need a dress." His face had a teasing expression, and Han thought Kes was probably going to add to the good-natured ribbing he'd received about his search. Han nodded and grinned.

But Kes was serious. "I commed Shara. She's on her way to the Princess now."

* * *

"Are you sure?"

"Your Highness, I would be honored. It's just been taking up space in the bottom of my trunk since the honeymoon." Shara smiled at Leia. "And besides, after Poe, I doubt I'm ever going to fit into that thing again."

Leia fingered the pale pink chiffon overskirt, covered with a sprinkling of appliquéd flowers. If it fit, it would honestly be perfect. Alderaanian wedding dresses were either pale pink or pale blue, and this dress was lovely but simple enough for an outdoor ceremony.

She and Han had discussed Alderaanian and Corellian wedding customs briefly, and Leia had realized that she almost was hesitant to incorporate some of them. She missed her parents so much right now; it hurt to think of the traditions they wouldn't be here to carry out with her.

In the end, she had asked Han to take care of majority of the planning, announcing that the only things she was going to do were get dressed, do her hair, and get married. Han seemed to be doing all right with it; she'd seen him in close conversation with Carlist Rieekan, as well as giving Luke some kind of urgent assignment. And the important thing was that they would be married, no matter what traditions they chose to uphold.

Well, at least there was one tradition she could pull off. Shara's dress was perfect.

* * *

Endor was especially beautiful by twilight, the treetops outlining a deepening blue sky and the first flickers of starlight. At the foot of the _Falcon's_ ramp, Carlist Rieekan waited for Leia to emerge.

She walked down the ramp, and he smiled broadly, extending his arm to her. "You look beautiful, Your Highness," he said.

She did. Her blush-colored gown had a lace bodice and a chiffon skirt accented with fabric flowers. The skirt had been a bit long, so Shara had suggested trimming the bottom to shorten it. The leftover material had been turned into ribbons and wound into Leia's braided updo.

She gasped as they drew closer to the clearing. They'd invited everyone who was on Endor, the High Command, and all the Alderaanians in the Alliance who could safely make it to Endor with less than two days' notice. She'd expected a crowd, but she hadn't expected—

The guests and the Ewoks had formed a sort of honor guard on either side of the path leading to the ceremony site. She couldn't greet each guest personally, but she smiled and nodded as she came down the line. She was glad to be on Carlist's arm; she had expected to be emotional, but thought Han might get the wrong idea if she showed up to marry him bursting into tears.

The Rogues' creation, a series of lights wound through the trees around the ceremony site, had taken every spare bulb available, but was clearly worth it. Provided it didn't burn down the forest.

She began recognizing more of the smiles that greeted her as they walked up the path. When she reached Wedge, he took a step out of the honor guard formation and grinned at her.

"Commander," he said, and winked.

"Commander," she returned with a nod.

He pulled a small bouquet of flowers from behind his back. "Corellian tradition," he said, handing them to Leia. They were wound with ribbons of green, the Corellian wedding color.

"Thank you," she said.

He squeezed her hand. "Thank your husband," he said, and winked again before stepping back into line.

She could see Han waiting for her, next to Mon Mothma, who was to perform the ceremony. And around him was—a tent. An Alderaanian wedding tent. Holding the four posts were Luke, Chewie, Lando, and Tycho. After Carlist kissed her cheek and put her hand in Han's, he took the fourth post.

"Hi," Han said, almost shyly.

"Hi." She squeezed his hand. "You did this?" she asked, indicating the tent, the decorations.

"Had help," he shrugged. _There_ was the crooked grin she loved.

For a moment, Leia thought she was going to cry, but then she couldn't stop smiling. It seemed to be catching; for a minute, she and Han just held hands and smiled at each other sappily.

Mon looked at them with amusement, then started the ceremony.

She explained the purpose of the wedding tent, its symbolic shelter for the couple in their journey through life together, and the commitment each of the beings supporting the tent was making to support Han and Leia.

"Didn't think it was such a _thing_ ," Han muttered quietly. "Just thought it was pretty." Leia suppressed a laugh.

Then there were the vows, as they promised by the stars and the Force to love, cherish, and support one another all the days of their lives.

The rings looked suspiciously like former engine parts, thought they had been melted and shaped slightly to look less like that. But somehow they fit, and Leia wore hers with pride.

Then Mon pronounced them joined forever, by the power of the Alliance to Restore the Republic and the future Alliance of Free Planets. She smiled at them. "Now give everyone what they've been waiting for and kiss."

Han pulled her close, and their lips met. _My husband_ , Leia thought. _My husband._ Their kiss deepened, and she felt his strong arms around her. Behind them, the Alliance was cheering.

 _Now_ she was crying. It looked like he was too.

After the toasts, after the laughter, after it all, it was the two of them, dancing in the starlight and sharing another kiss. "My husband," Leia whispered.

"My wife," he said, and kissed her again.

* * *

 _Kiss me beneath the milky twilight_  
 _Lead me out on the moonlit floor_  
 _Lift your open hand_  
 _Strike up the band, and make the fireflies dance_  
 _Silver moon sparkling_  
 _So kiss me…_

-"Kiss Me," Sixpence None the Richer


	2. Chapter 2 - Who's Scruffy Looking?

_One thing I didn't quite manage to fix in Epic Love was Han Solo's terrible shaggy old-man hairdo. So I did it here. Written for Scoundress Saturdays on Tumblr for the prompt: "one character playing with the other's hair."_

 _This takes place shortly after the events in Epic Love, so Han and Leia have been recently reunited after pretending to be split up for years and also after that whole Han-almost-dying thing. So they're, ah, making up for lost time._

* * *

 **Who's Scruffy-Looking?**

"Thanks again for breakfast, Dad," Jaina said, as she and Rey began heading toward the door. Han was surprised the two of them could even move; he'd never seen anyone eat so many griddle cakes in one sitting before, with the possible exception of Chewie.

"'Course," he said, giving her a quick hug. "See you later."

Before she let go, Jaina ruffled the hair on the back of his neck, giving him a look that indicated she was thinking about something.

He grinned at her. "What?"

"Well." She looked just like her mother when she plotted like this. "We got Uncle Luke to ditch that—" she made a little circular motion with her hand—" _mane_ he had going on. What are we gonna do about _this_?"

"About my hair?" Han was still grinning, but he was a little taken aback at being called out.

" _Yes_ , about your hair," she said patiently, pulling away from Han and turning to hug Leia. "Bye, Mom."

Leia squeezed her and kissed her cheek. "Bye, honey."

Han gave Rey a hug, too, then demanded, "What the hell's wrong with my hair?"

Rey backed away, shrugging. "I'm staying out of this one."

"Smart woman," said Leia as she pulled Rey in for a hug as well.

Jaina wrinkled her nose as she made her way out the door. "It doesn't look like you," she said to Han. "It's old man hair. All long and weird and— _scruffy_."

As the door closed, Han stared after them in disbelief for a minute, then turned to Leia. "It's not really that bad, is it?"

She laughed, reaching for him, and as he pulled her close, she reached up and put her hand into his hair. After a brief kiss, Leia chuckled again, stroking his hair affectionately. "You _are_ a bit scruffy," she admitted.

He pulled back slightly. "Thought you _liked_ scruffy," he protested, but his eyes were twinkling.

She pulled him down for another kiss. "I love you however I can have you," she said, looking up at him. She gently ran a hand through the hair at the base of his neck again. "But your daughter does have a point. Old man," she teased.

Han took that almost as a challenge, giving Leia a searing kiss and pulling her towards the bedroom. " _Old man_ ," he muttered as they made their way down the hall, "I'll show _you_ old man." Then he stopped. "How long before you turn into a General again?"

Leia glanced at her chrono. "Little less than an hour."

His grin was back. "Plenty of time."

* * *

Afterwards, it was his turn to run his hands through her hair as she lay against his chest. He had done it for the first time decades ago, when they had first come together like this; when her hair was dark brown instead of the lighter brown threaded with gray that it was now. She still reveled in the feeling.

"Mmm…" she moaned, practically purring. "I love that." Leia's eyes were half closed.

She could feel his chuckle from deep inside his chest. "Which part?" he asked.

"All of it," she said dreamily.

He moved a bit of hair away from her temple and placed a kiss there. "Princess," he teased, "you're turning into a sap."

"I'm allowed," she said, looking up at him. He smiled down at her.

They lay in silence for several more minutes, then Leia finally started to get up. Han tried to stop her, trying to capture her in his arms, and she giggled.

Finally, she looked up at him. "I have a Resistance to run," she said firmly, "and you have a haircut to get."

Han led his head roll back. "Seriously?"

She kissed him. "Seriously." Then she got a mischievous look in her eye. "But I'll give you a little something to remember me by," she said, kissing her way to the back of his neck, to the part currently covered by what Jaina had referred to as his "old man" hair.

* * *

By the time the group had gathered on the _Falcon_ for their sabacc game, Han was clean-shaven and had a new, much better haircut, his hair now cropped closely to his head.

"Looks good, Dad," Jaina said approvingly, then turned to Wedge with a smug expression on her face. "See. I told you I'd get him to do it."

Just then, Han turned around to get another ale, and Wedge stifled a laugh. "I don't think you're the one who talked him into it, Jai," he said.

Just below Han's new hairline in the back was a small, but obviously freshly acquired, love bite.

" _Mother_!"


	3. Chapter 3 - Birthday

_The reunited family celebrates Jaina Organa-Solo's eighteenth birthday. Written for HanLeia Appreciation Week 2017, for the prompt "Family."_

 _This takes place shortly after the events of Epic Love and during some of the early parts of its (work-in-progress) sequel, The Solo Girls._

* * *

 **Birthday**

Everyone was supposed to have gone back to their quarters after dinner, after Jaina blew out her candles and made a wish; after slices of cake were passed around and devoured; after numerous hands of sabacc, half a bottle of Whyren's Reserve, and a round of hot chocolates.

("What did you wish for?" her uncle Wedge had asked, and Jaina had looked so very much like Han as she'd smirked and said, "Wouldn't you like to know.")

Chewie was the only one who had left, off to the comfort of his hammock for the night. He deserved the rest; at Jaina's request, he'd cooked tonight's dinner for all of them. (Han had made the cake.)

Everyone else was still in the sitting area of Leia and Han's quarters: Luke and Wedge snuggling sleepily on the couch next to Leia and Han, the young people sprawled out on the floor.

 _Our kids_ , Leia thought fondly, leaning her head against Han's chest. Han was playing with her hair a bit. She'd always liked that feeling, and gave a satisfied little hum as he continued.

On the floor, Rey was resting her head on Jaina's shoulder, both of them propped up against a chair. Finn was leaning on Rey. All of them were either asleep or supposedly "just resting my eyes," as Jaina kept claiming.

"Our baby is eighteen," Han said quietly, and Leia snuggled against him.

"She is." It felt like quite the achievement after the sacrifices they'd made to protect her— _we made it_ —but neither of them wanted to say that, for fear of tempting more fate. Jaina had been their miracle baby, the one they never thought they could hope for. A very pleasant surprise. And still surprising them now, all the time.

Luke leaned over and dropped his head on Leia's shoulder. "Hey," protested Wedge mildly, but he didn't begrudge the twins their closeness. Luke responded by pulling his husband closer, so that all four of them were snuggled close together on the couch.

Of course Leia worried about her daughter, about all three of the kids. The fight was far from over, and they'd all had to grow up too fast already. _But they have each other_ , she reminded herself.

Han kissed the top of her head. _And they have us._


	4. Chapter 4 - Make It Last Forever

_A ficlet of pure silliness posted on Tumblr for Father's Day 2017, featuring Good Dad Han Solo, his daughter Jaina, and several of her other father figures. Because you know Han is the kind of dad who would rock out to whatever his daughter wanted to listen to while they were on the run together. Even the Spice Girls. Also inspired by Mark Hamill's account of him and Harrison Ford disco dancing in their dressing rooms during the filming of Star Wars._

* * *

 **Make it Last Forever (Friendship Never Ends)**

They'd been invited to play sabacc on the _Falcon_ again, and, well, Poe would be damned if he'd pass up a chance at that. On their way, he and Finn ran into General Antilles, er, Wedge, who was headed there as well.

The music playing in the _Falcon_ could be heard from quite a distance away. As they first approached, it was a punk song with a sort of thrashing beat, then that finished and the music switched to a poppy girl-power anthem that had been popular about five or six years ago.

As they came up the ramp, they could hear not only the bouncing beat of the song, but the sound of Rey's laughter. Poe wasn't sure he'd ever heard such a wonderful sound. Although it did sound like she might need to be resuscitated soon if it kept up like that.

Then, as they made it into the lounge, they saw what had Rey in hysterics. It wasn't Jaina, although her dancing and lip syncing with a wrench as her pretend microphone _was_ pretty entertaining. It was the fact that on either side of her were Han Solo and Luke Skywalker, bopping along to the music as if they were her backup dancers. As the three men entered the room, Han and Luke turned around and started shaking their asses to the music.

Rey was having trouble breathing, she was laughing so hard.

Wedge had started laughing, too, and before they knew it he had joined the other two men beside Jaina. Now all four of them were dancing to the song.

Finn was gobsmacked. "What. Is. Happening. Right. Now." It _was_ a rather odd scene, particularly given Han's normally gruff manner and Luke's reputation as a rather serious Jedi master.

Poe laughed and pulled Finn toward the group. "C'mon. If we can't beat 'em, join 'em."

 _So, tell me what ya want  
What you really really want…_


	5. Chapter 5 - Smitten

_Their daughter's in love - and a little distracted. Relaxing after a hard day at the Resistance, Han and Leia reflect on how falling felt for them. Written for Scoundress Saturday on Tumblr. Prompt: Limerence - the state of infatuation with another person._

* * *

 **Chapter 5 - Smitten**

It was so wonderful to have him back.

Sure, they'd never really been apart, even during their seven-year "hiatus," as Wedge had taken to referring to it, but it was so much better with him here. Especially on days like these, filled with strategy sessions on their next base, intel on the First Order's movements, a thousand decisions governing the lives of everyone who'd pledged themselves to her cause and everyone they were trying to protect. Coming home to Han was a reminder that she didn't have to shoulder it all alone.

Also, he gave one hell of a massage.

She could feel the tension melt away as his hands kneaded her neck muscles, and she made an appreciative "mmm" as he worked his way down her back.

"Better?" he asked, his voice low.

"Much," she responded, matching his tone. Slowly, she sat up again, then leaned back in his arms. They were on the little couch in her quarters—their quarters—catching up on the day.

"How was the sabacc game?" she asked. "Jaina clean you out again?"

Han chuckled. "Ah, no. Little distracted, I think."

Leia smiled. "Distracted?" she asked, though she was fairly sure she knew the reason.

"Wedge called her 'smitten,'" he said.

Leia turned slightly and looked up at Han. "And how did she react to that?"

"Denied it. Blushed. Totally missed Luke bluffing her later on," he said.

Leia laughed softly, and pulled closer. "Limerence is a powerful thing."

He cocked an eyebrow at her. "Limerence?"

"That state of infatuation with another person," she explained. "Being smitten."

"Ah," he said. "Yeah, sure is."

"Wait, _is_?" Leia asked. "It's been almost forty years. I think you and I have moved beyond limerence," she said.

"'M still smitten," he claimed.

She turned to him again, raising an eyebrow. "Han Solo, that may be the most cornball thing I've ever heard you say to me."

He winked at her. "Sorry, Princess. 'S true."

She shook her head, still smiling. "I didn't say I didn't _like_ it," she said, and they both laughed, pausing to go in for a kiss.

Leia settled back into her previous position in Han's arms. "She's happy," she said.

"I know," Han agreed. "'S good."

They lay there together for a few minutes, lost in their thoughts. Then Leia laughed quietly at herself.

"Something funny?" Han asked.

Leia drew his arms closer around her. "I was just remembering I had a really stern talk with myself a few times. About you. Told myself I didn't have time for infatuation."

Han chuckled. "Had a few talks with myself, too," he said. "But Chewie kept calling bantha shit on me. And he's louder."

They were quiet again for a few minutes. Han started to loosen Leia's braid, running his fingers through the strands as he set them free.

"Think we skipped the infatuation part," he said, his hands working faster now.

"Slid straight into love?" she asked. She faltered slightly on that last syllable, eyes closing as Han carded his fingers through her hair.

"Something like that," he said. "Still smitten, though."

"Me, too," she agreed.


End file.
